Merafe Resources

South African ferrochrome producer Merafe Resources said on Tuesday output at its joint venture with Xstrata fell 47% between January and September compared with the same period last year. Merafe said ferrochrome production at the venture had dropped to 126 000 tons during the period due to the suspension of up to 80% of production capacity earlier this year following a slump in demand. The company said furnace production had been restored to 85% of total capacity after a rebound in demand. Ferrochrome producers in South Africa, the world's biggest producer, as well as the global ferrochrome industry have slashed output by around two-thirds this year in response to lower demand resulting from the economic downturn. Merafe said earlier this month the European benchmark ferrochrome price had been settled at $1.03 per pound for the 4th quarter of 2009, up 16% from the 3rd quarter price of $0.89 per pound.